1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a focus detection device and method capable of detecting focus states at multiple points in the field of a viewfinder.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the recent trend toward high-performance, highly functional cameras, various techniques have been proposed for focus detection devices capable of detecting focus states at many points in the field of a viewfinder.
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-333022 proposes a focus detection device in which focus detection portions 701, 703, 705, 707 on a standard side and focus detection portions 702, 704, 706, 708 on a reference side are arranged as shown in FIG. 26A.
The outputs of these eight focus detection portions 701-708 are input into selection means 709, respectively. The selection means 709 reads the outputs of the focus detection portions 701-708 sequentially on a portion-by-portion basis as shown in FIG. 26B under the control of sensor control means 710, and outputs them to a processing part located downstream of the selection means. The processing part performs AF calculations based on the reading results.